“I pledge to protect and treat all equally as I am determined to cater for all irrespective of where they come from…I will ensure that the economy of the state is improved upon and also make Ndigbo to believe in and make Abia the economic hub of the Southeast… I believe that those who lost against me will come and join hands with me for the development of the state and its people”
The governor-elect of Abia State, Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu has said his success at the just-concluded governorship and House of Assembly polls was an act of God, even as he has dedicated his victory to God and the people of the state. He promised to justify the confidence the people reposed in him by working hard to enhance their well-being.
He expressed his gratitude to the people for their trust in him and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the April 11election and the supplementary election held on April 25, saying that the people have made a bold statement for progress.
Speaking with reporters at his Umuobiakwa country home in Obingwa Local Government Area, Ikpeazu said for the first time the people had elected a native of Ukwa/Ngwa as governor.
Promising that as the incoming governor of the state, Ikpeazu said his mandate is for both citizens and resident.
“I pledge to protect and treat all equally as I am determined to cater for all irrespective of where they come from,” he said.
He pledged to improve the state’s infrastructure and perk up the development of all sectors of the state’s economy.
“I will ensure that the economy of the state is improved upon and also make Ndigbo to believe in and make Abia the economic hub of the Southeast,” he said.
The governor-elect further explained that there was no election in the state, but an endorsement by the people of the state.
“What happened in the state was an endorsement and not a battle or election which is the reason there is peace in the state,” he said.
He then urged those who contested with him to come forward with their positive ideas and join hands with him to ensure that there is rapid development in the state.
Ikpeazu said: “I believe that those who lost against me will come and join hands with me for the development of the state and its people as they professed love for the state during their campaigns.”
On Otti, who intends to contest his defeat at the tribunal, Ikpeazu said: “His reason for going to the tribunal does not mean threat against me but the trait of a bad loser: I assure you that I will meet him at the tribunal as I have nothing to fear.
I wonder why there are still bad losers in the country and this shows that the APGA governorship candidate is very desperate. I expected him to have towed the line of President Goodluck Jonathan who conceded defeat. Let him go to the tribunal.”
Ikpeazu said six hours before the supplementary election, the candidates
of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and the United Peoples Party (UPP) had collapsed their structure into his, saying that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accepted the outcome of the election.